DuClaw Oak Barrel Aged Black Jack Stout

Formerly brewed at DuClaw Brewing Company
Style: Imperial Stout
Abingdon, Maryland USA

RBSG 2007: Bottle: Pours black with a tan head. Aroma, oak, coffee, chocolate, and some roasty notes. Flavor, oak and chocolate, coffee, dry roasted bitterness towards the end, some alcohol/bourbon notes.

RBSG07. From bottle. Pours dark brown with a chocolate brown head slight different from the non aged version. Aroma is roasted malt, chocolate notes instead of coffee. Flavour is chocolate and raisins. Finish is raisin sweet, blending nicely in with the chocolate.

Sampled at the RBSG 07 Grand Tasting. Dark dark brown body. Bourbon, coffee and chocolate on the nose. Roasted body with similar tastes as in the aroma. Dry finish.

RBSG 2007 Grand Tasting. Clear dark ruby body with a small frothy brown head. Sweet coffee and molassas aroma. Sweet strong coffee flavor with some oak, molassas and caramel notes.

Appearance: Pours out a dark brown topped with a creamy, milk chocolate-colored head. Smell: Weeell, let’s see. A richly textured aroma with layers of chocolate, espresso, bourbon, and oak. Taste: What does the taste hold? It holds an unequalled roastiness. Sweet, delicious roastiness. An abundance of chocolate in the taste, as well as hints of vanilla and rich coffee. Finishes with the delicate, luxurious taste of bourbon. Superb! Hmm... nothing else springs to mind, heh. Mouthfeel: Medium-bodied. Very soft and creamy on the tongue. Drinkability: This is not just fantastic, this is actually BEERtastic! Congratulations to DuClaw Brewing Co. on the release of such a quality stout.

Bottle thanks to hopscotch sampled on 7/2/06: Pours a viscous completely opaque with a nicely-lacing frothy dark tan head. Big complex sweet dark malty aroma has lots of good dark fruits, plums and a smooth bourbony oaky balance. Body starts with a nice sweet thick caramel maltiness and full complex and very well balanced bourbon oaky character. Finishes smooth and sweet with a good dark fruity character and liquid dark chocolate hiding the alcohol very well.

Sampled on cask at RFD’s as part of RBSG 06: Pours an opaque viscous black with a thin ring of large tan bubbles. Aroma of sweet dark caramel and complex oaky bourbon. Full, complex, sweet dark malty and dark mocha chocolate flavor has some warming notes, but is well-balanced. I prefer the bottled version over the cask, but both are quite tasty.

Viscous, almost wine like pour of dark, evil looking hues, mostly violet and reddish brown. Head is minimal, as is lacing. Sweet bourbon and chocolate in the nose, quickly follwed by roasted malts, vanilla and anise and charcoal. So far, nothing special. Flavor is similar with an oversight that I see now is dark fruits and raging alcohol. Palate is very subdued and smooth, finish is sweet and restrained, medium length. Really mellow and smooth, I guess I just was so convinced it would be a flavor bomb I ended up a little dissapointed. Very good anyway, this brewpub is most excellent.

At the RFD party at RBSG ’06. Dark beer with a brown bubble head. This beer was so smooth with lots of wood, vanilla, buttery bourbon and dark pit fruit. The nose is dominated by the bourbon barrel, and when you exhale there is a very nice floral alcohol sensation. Very complex beer that you could develope a real relationship with.